DUI Laws

Driving under influence refers to the criminal offense of operating a motor vehicle while being under the influence of alcohol or drugs (or a combination of these). It is a serious offence that requires the assistance of a specialized attorney or lawyer. The limit of intoxication is reached when tests reveal a content of 0.08% of alcohol in the blood; for minors, the limit is even below 0.08%.

If a driver is pulled over by the police and there is suspicion of DUI, some tests will follow – the breath test, field sobriety tests and BAC (blood alcohol content).

The breath test can be used as presumptive evidence in a trial for DUI. Anyone charged with DUI should keep in mind that the breath test conversion assumes one is an average person, without taking into consideration a person’s gender, age, height or weight. Attempts can be made to prove that the person charged of DUI doesn’t have the constitution of an average person and therefore the standard conversion formulas cannot apply. It is also possible to prove that the breath sample was not properly handled or an independent breath test can be requested. If the difference between the two results is significant, the independent test will be used to fight the DUI charge.

The field sobriety test consists of simple physical or cognitive tests that will determine your sobriety level. Some of these tests have been standardized (the one-leg stand; walk and turn; horizontal gaze nystagmus test), others not, but they can still be applied (such as: stand with feet together and tip the head backwards; count the number of fingers that the officer raises, or count backwards; etc).

As far as the blood content is concerned, there are many variables to be considered – weight, body fat, gender, age. All of these are key factors in the way that the body processes the alcohol. Even the total amount of water in a body is determinant for the amount of alcohol needed to reach the BAC limit.

Refusing to take those tests will attract penalties, usually driver’s license suspension for a certain period.

If found guilty of DUI, one faces severe penalties: fines, driver’s license suspension, imprisonment. One may also have to deal with social consequences that have a harsher impact in life, such as increased insurance rates, loss of professional license, loss of job, even loss of child custody.

A specialized DUI lawyer can drastically improve one’s chances to defeat the charge – or brings the possibility that one’s life is not very severely affected by a permanent criminal record.